Earthquake
by PhoenixFlame53
Summary: It was a normal day in Miles Edgeworth's life. He was sitting in his office, and a certain detective had come to visit him. All was well, until he was told some bad news... This is set in the Apollo Justice timeline, soon after the last case. Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, places, or names; they are owned by Capcom. ..Except for Marvin. :)
1. A Visit

Miles Edgeworth sat, alone, at his newly polished wooden desk in Room 1202- the High Prosecutor's Office. It had been quite a long time since he had reconciled with his old friends or even his subordinates; it was the summer break for a lot of people in Los Angeles and there was a lot less crime- meaning there was absolutely no work to do.

"It's quite strange," he sighed, taking a sip of freshly-brewed green tea, "that I'm one of the only people around here at this time. You would think other people would have some things to do, at least- like filing papers and all that lot."

After scribbling down a few quick notes about a trial he was attending next week (not prosecuting, though- his adoptive sister, Franziska, had been assigned to this case), Edgeworth walked over to his small, albeit very unique and treasured chess table and began fidgeting with the red and blue pieces.

Suddenly, a thought popped into his mind.

_I wonder what Detective Gumshoe is up to right now? He's usually at work, helping me, or at home eating with his beloved girlfriend._

The door burst open at that precise moment, much to Edgeworth's astonishment…and in skipped Gumshoe himself.

"O…" he started to sing in a voice Edgeworth knew would be heard throughout the entire building,

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know…!"

Gumshoe continued to sing while Edgeworth put his head in his hands.

"Detective. That is a Christmas carol. It is mid-summer. Do you have a sufficient explanation for this?"

The look of embarrassment on the poor detective's beet-red face told him the answer was clearly 'no', but Gumshoe smirked and scratched the back of his neck.

"Well, sir…it's certainly a great time to be merry! Hahaha…"

Edgeworth couldn't help smiling at Gumshoe's response. It was a habit of the detective to be absent-minded at times, and it made him both an unhelpful but humorous partner to work with.

"You can sit down, Detective."

"R-really?! On your expensive couch?!" he exclaimed in delight; he had never sat on a couch this comfortable before in his life.

"Yes, Detective." Edgeworth confirmed, and took notice of how carefully Gumshoe sat down as to not leave a trace of dust on it.

"So, did you come to tell me something?" asked Edgeworth, taking another sip of tea. "Most of the, um- how can I say this? - _lower-ranking _detectives are having a break right now."

Gumshoe sighed heavily, and caused Edgeworth to feel a little bit uneasy.

_I hope I haven't hurt his feelings…I certainly didn't mean to…_

However- to Edgeworth's great surprise- Gumshoe smiled and turned towards him.

"You didn't hurt my feelings at all, Mr. Edgeworth!" he reassured, as if he had read Edgeworth's mind, "It's just that….after lunch, I'm to work another shift…"

The detective jumped up from the sofa, though, sending a few of the cushions into disarray. He hastily fixed them into a neat order before turning back.

"But even if I have to work another shift, I still need to save up for a better apartment for me and Maggey- and that's just what I'm going to do from now on!"

Edgeworth marvelled at Gumshoe's determination.

_Poor Detective; always working for others and never once thinking of himself._

…_Sometimes…I wish I could be like that man._

Suddenly, a deep laugh came from behind the desk. Edgeworth turned around to see Gumshoe looking at a bouquet of roses, protea and other assorted flowers on the shelf.

"Sir…" he grinned, trying not to burst out laughing, "Why have you got some flowers from Ms. Oldbag on your shelf? I thought you didn't like her."

_He noticed them…_

"I _don't_ like her one bit, Detective! She's the one who stalks _me_!"

Gumshoe laughed in disbelief.

"Well….if you say so, sir." he chuckled, remembering Edgeworth's reaction whenever she popped up near him.

"But if you don't like her…..why _keep_ the flowers?"

Edgeworth flushed bright red.

_He has a good point, Miles….!_

"Um…well, you see…I…" he spluttered, wringing his hands in anguish, "I think she'd kill me if I didn't."

The detective swiftly sat back down, a wide grin lighting up his face.

"I don't think so, sir." he began, shaking his head in disagreement. "She'd probably send another batch of flowers to her dear _Edgey-poo…_"

"Detective!" Edgeworth cried, glaring savagely at the now anxious Gumshoe.

"Call me by that name _once more_ and…and…" he hesitated, thinking intently of a suitable punishment,

"And Franziska will be on your case."

Gumshoe gasped in horror, trying to take in what was just said.

"M-m-miss von Karma?! B-but, _sir!_"

The image of Franziska doing what she does best- whipping Gumshoe and screaming the word 'fool' over and over again- filled both of their minds.

_Thank goodness me and her are on good terms now…_

Edgeworth smiled innocently and finished his tea in one quick gulp.

"You'd better be careful, then."

Suddenly the clock struck one; the start of Gumshoe's extra shift.

"_May all detectives on the afternoon shift finish their lunch break now, please._" the speakers blared, and both Edgeworth and Gumshoe had no doubt in their minds that everyone heard the message.

After he had heard it, though, Gumshoe's face fell and he stood up. Slowly dragging his feet across towards he door, he rested himself on the doorframe.

"I-it's the start of my shift, sir…" he sighed, before getting ready to leave. Edgeworth, however, sat back down at his desk and started to write something of importance down onto a piece of paper.

"Detective…" he mumbled, unsure of what to say next. He decided on a compliment; after all, Gumshoe _did_ just use most of his lunch break talking to him.

_Here goes…_

"Thank you for the visit. I-I appreciate it."

_There! That's wasn't awkward at all, was it?_

Gumshoe smiled.

"You're welcome, sir! But," he hesitated, looking suddenly nervous, "I have to tell you something before I go…"

"Hm?" Edgeworth queried, looking up from his desk.

"Th-there's rumours going round there might be a….quake….later on tonight, so…be careful, sir." Gumshoe rushed out of the room, and at that moment Edgeworth was hit with the full blow of his words.

_An….earthquake…?_


	2. Magic Tricks

"Ta-da! The great and powerful Trucy has pulled the extremely frightened rodent out of her magic panties!"

The deafening sound of applause echoed throughout the office that made up most of the Wright Anything Agency. Apollo and Phoenix were both sitting on the couch, watching Phoenix's daughter and aspiring magician practising for her show the following night. Most of the clapping that was now fading away came from Phoenix, sitting upright with a huge grin on his face; however, Apollo sat, stock still, wide eyes fixated on Trucy's pants- and the thing that had come out of them.

"M-m-mouse…." he gasped, hugging his knees for comfort, and looked over at Trucy. She had turned around innocently to tidy away her act, but Apollo reckoned that the devilish smirk she wore was far from innocent.

_S-she knew about my fear, then….I just know she did, or are my eyes deceiving me? I-I don't know.._

"Oh, come on, Polly!" Trucy beckoned, seeing Apollo shivering violently. "Marvin the Magnificent is _really _friendly!"

_Marvin…the Magnificent? More like Marvin the Merciless…_

"I-I'm sure he is. Just keep him away from me for now, please-"

"B-but we _have_ to look after him, Polly!" Trucy begged, her wide, teary eyes telling him how desperate she was- or was trying- to be. "My next show is tomorrow night, and afterwards we can let him go, can't we? _Please_, Polly! Pretty please!"

Apollo sighed; as much as his fear of mice terrified him….Trucy was much more important. After all, they were practically family now.

"O-OK….but where are we going to keep him until tomorrow?"

An awkward silence came across the room while Trucy and Phoenix sat there thinking about a possibility and Apollo waited for their decision.

It was broken by the sound of stifled laughter from opposite, and Apollo looked up at Phoenix- to see him smirking in the exact same way Trucy did.

_Oh no. Like father, like daughter…What's he come up with?_

"Well," Phoenix began, "there isn't much space in here-"

Apollo glared at both of his good friends and pointed at Marvin, who was now nibbling on a biscuit Trucy had produced from her pocket and given to him.

"That _thing_ is not sleeping in my apartment, even if it is overnight. Are we clear?"

Apollo lived in one of the two apartments directly upstairs from the offices; Phoenix and Trucy being his

next-door neighbours. It was a quiet place where Apollo could eat and sleep- as he relaxed with Trucy and Phoenix anyway- and, he decided, it would not become a home for something he was afraid of.

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease? What if I buy you a hotdog?"

"No." Apollo stated, crossing his arms and tapping his finger in frustration. Hotdogs were her favourite food, and she never bought hotdogs except for herself, but he _was not _having a mouse in his apartment.

Phoenix giggled from opposite the duo, and Trucy and Apollo turned to see him trying to stifle a laugh.

"What's so funny?!"

Phoenix couldn't take it anymore and burst into extremely loud laughter, making Apollo even more annoyed.

"_What?!" _he yelled, as Phoenix wiped a joyful tear from his eye and Trucy watched on in confusion.

"S-sorry, Apollo. It's just that you looked so much like an old friend of mine back then…Hahahahaha!"

Sighing, Apollo got up from the sofa and decided to allow the mouse to stay in his apartment. As he explained this to the now calmer Phoenix and Trucy, he reminded himself to never do something like this ever again.

"Y-you'll do it? Thanks, Polly!" Trucy exclaimed, running to hug Apollo and making him fall back onto the sofa.

"There are two rules: one, he is to be kept in his cage at all times, and two, the cage will be kept

in the bathroom. Agreed?" Standing up and brushing himself off, Apollo walked towards the front door.

"We'll deliver him later on, Apollo." Phoenix grinned, watching him get up and walk out of the door and up the stairs towards his apartment; he knew as well as anyone that Apollo wanted nothing more than to get away from Marvin, and as he had been sweating profusely for some time now he was probably going to have a shower.

"Daddy…" Trucy muttered, looking down at the floor, "Are you sure we aren't asking too much of him?"

"No."

"No?"

Phoenix put his hand on her shoulder and smiled a devilish smile.

"I'm sure he'll do just fine."

_We had been trapped in there for almost six hours now, and the bailiff had become restless._

_He started to fight with my father, telling him to stop stealing his oxygen._

_I suddenly found a pistol at my feet and threw it at the bailiff, shouting at him to leave my father alone._

_A gunshot rang out, then a scream- and the darkness engulfed us._

_That's when my father breathed his last…_


	3. A Problem Arises

Phoenix Wright sat alone in the Wright Anything Agency, twiddling his thumbs and humming a theme song from a TV show he knew of. Shortly after his understudy had left for a peaceful shower, his daughter had gone to her best friend's house for a get-together, and Phoenix liked the silence that usually followed this; it gave him some time to relax by himself before he had to go to work for a round of poker with his new opponent. However, there were no games scheduled today, so Phoenix popped open a bottle of his favourite drink- grape juice- and lazily turned on the TV. There was a short-haired weather girl announcing the completely wrong weather on the Weather Channel and subsequently being shouted at from backstage.

_Heh heh. At least there was some comic relief in that, _thought Phoenix, looking outside the window at the violently pouring rain. _But, in all seriousness, she really shouldn't be saying it's sunny when….well, just look outside._

After the young weather girl stormed off the set, another, older-looking man- evidently her replacement- walked on, blushing furiously.

"Sorry about that, um, inconvenience." he apologized, briefly looking down in anxiety but regaining his composure and fake smile quicker than expected.

"In the region around Los Angeles, there are some heavy showers of rain still going on and, unfortunately, will still continue for a few hours. Over here, there will be.."

Phoenix yawned loudly and took another swig of grape juice, accidentally spilling some onto his grey hoodie.

_Boring. Can't they show any real news for a change?_

After wondering where he had heard that before, a new, 'urgent' report was now showing on the channel he had been ignoring for a while.

"Now, citizens of Los Angeles, later on you are going to experience some earthquakes, so be ready for them. Due to the accuracy of the prediction, we do not know exactly what time they will hit, so make sure you are prepared."

_Wait….an earthquake?_

_I'm OK with them; I've lived here for ages now. Practically all my life._

Phoenix decided to have a long nap, so he stood up and got ready to return to his apartment- but a sudden thought stopped him in his tracks as he remembered Apollo's hilarious bout of frustration earlier.

…_I just remembered._

_I have a best friend who is definitely not OK with earthquakes, but he's probably doing work at the Prosecutor's Office. _

_Does he even know about the earthquakes? Oh no….._

Phoenix returned, in deep thought, to the comforting realms of the sofa and sat down, thinking about a plan of action.

He couldn't just call Edgeworth during the earthquake, could he? He knew that when an earthquake happened, Edgeworth would refuse to move from the spot he was in and curl up into a ball for a while.

Moreover, they hadn't seen each other for so long now. It would feel very awkward and Phoenix knew that wouldn't help calm him.

….He didn't even know if Edgeworth cared about him anymore.

_Damn it…..what am I supposed to do?_

_I'm not just going to leave him there alone with his greatest fear!_

_I don't care if I haven't seen him for ages; I've got to help…somehow._

All at once, it hit him. Frantically putting on his raincoat and running out of the door halfway through buttoning it up, he knew exactly what he was going to do.

Nothing could stop him now.


	4. Reunion

Arriving at the Prosecutor's Office completely soaked, Phoenix Wright forgot to take off his raincoat and, with no hesitation whatsoever, began to head up several flights of stairs. Ever since _that_ trial many years ago, where he had defended his best friend against their former mentor, Phoenix had tended to stay away from elevators. He wasn't scared of them like his best friend was, but he had this horrible feeling in his stomach he just couldn't shake every time he saw one, and he felt that it would be mocking his friend if he rode one in the current state of things. Increasing his pace as he walked, he made sure that he didn't look out of the windows; the thing that Phoenix _was_ genuinely afraid of was heights, and Edgeworth's office was on quite a high floor.

As he approached the last set of stairs before his destination, it happened.

The first earthquake.

It shook the floor above and the staircase Phoenix was standing on violently, causing a potted plant to fall and the pot holding it to crack open. Grabbing onto the nearest thing to him- the banister- Phoenix felt his heart drop as he wondered what was going on in his friend's mind right now.

_Oh gosh…It must be so hard for him. Especially as there hasn't been an earthquake for ages._

The earthquake gradually stopped, and Phoenix managed to get to the corridor- but rushing down the corridor in his direction was Franziska von Karma, the 'Prosecuting Prodigy'. It had felt great to defeat a prosecutor of such reputation when he was against her…but that was years ago, and she and her menacing whip she carried around everywhere she went still had quite a grudge against him.

Turning away, he saw out of the corner of his eye that she wore a nervous expression and was not, in fact, walking towards him- but past him.

"Herr Gavin?" she asked, stopping for a moment, and Phoenix stifled a laugh.

_How the heck did she mistake me for Klavier? Oh, wait….Klavier got me this for my birthday…I didn't realise it matched with his own raincoat until a while ago._

"Ye-I mean, Ja?" he replied, turning away from her and pretending to be concentrating on a text while imitating Klavier's husky German accent. Every so often, he would eye her whip in case he had to dodge it somehow.

Not like he would _actually_ be able to escape it, though.

_Please….Please, let her be convinced by it…_

"Can you check on my kleine bruder for me? He…hates earthquakes…." she murmured, clutching her whip for comfort.

_Franziska, _he thought, _you've changed since I last saw you. What happened?_

Phoenix decided to keep up the act; he was going to see Edgeworth anyway, so why refuse? In addition, Franziska was definitely different from before. It was as if she was a completely new person.

"Of course, nett Fräulein. I'll go right now, in fact."

Franziska, to Phoenix's great surprise, smiled a weak smile of relief and walked off, shouting "Danke!" back down the corridor at him. After she had disappeared down the staircase, Phoenix let out a deep sigh and mentally reminded himself to tell Klavier later.

_Thank you, Klavier. Thank you so, so much for speaking German during every single case you and Apollo handle together; it may have just saved me from a whip lash or two…_

The tall, mahogany door of Room 1202 creaked slowly open as Phoenix crept inside. Nothing much had changed since last time he had visited, apart from the fact that there was a new, sparkling-clean tea set on top of one of the shelves and there was a small statue of the Jammin' Ninja on the floor that must have been knocked over during the quake.

_How ironic that the Steel Samurai statue is the one out of the two that hasn't fallen_... thought Phoenix, as he looked further around the office. There was still the broken 'King of Prosecutors' trophy, the beloved Steel Samurai statue, and, to his dismay, a bouquet of assorted flowers with a small card taped onto the wrapping.

_Just how old IS that woman now?! _

_D-don't tell me she's STILL been stalking him for all these years…_

As soon as he took a small step towards the shelf to get a closer look at the card, Phoenix heard a small, nervous voice come out from underneath the desk and recognised it immediately.

It was Edgeworth.

"W-who's there? If it is you, Detective, I'm completely fine…"

Phoenix chuckled and peered around the desk, startling Edgeworth and subsequently causing him to scramble out of his hiding-place.

"No, you aren't." he insisted, standing back up and facing Edgeworth, "On the contrary, you are completely _not_ fine. There _has_ just been an earthquake, anyway."

As Edgeworth shuddered at the word 'earthquake', Phoenix was taken aback by what Edgeworth was wearing on his face.

"Glasses? Edgeworth, you never used to wear glasses…"

Edgeworth walked up to Phoenix and glared at him; he didn't know it was his friend standing there, and thought he was just a complete stranger.

"Just who are you?" he asked. "And just how do you know my-"

"Quiet." whispered Phoenix, as he put his index finger to Edgeworth's lips, making his friend go silent.

_Here we go,_ he thought.

Slowly, Phoenix removed his beanie hat and Edgeworth gasped in shock, seeing the spiky, black hair underneath it.

"W-Wright?! Is that you?!"

Grinning, Phoenix sat down on the sofa and beckoned Edgeworth to sit down next to him.

"Yes, it's me. Why?" he asked innocently, causing Edgeworth to blush in embarrassment.

"Um...well..." he spluttered, making Phoenix clutch his sides in laughter.

_How should I even tell him?!_

"Wright...um...your clothes..."

"What about them?" Phoenix asked as if nothing were the matter, taking out a bottle of emergency grape juice he had taken along for moments such as this.

Edgeworth, however, couldn't hold his thoughts in any longer.

"Wright, they make you look like a hobo..."

Spitting out a mouthful of grape juice onto the carpet, Phoenix chuckled heartily.

"A hobo? Do I really look like that?"

You could tell from his grin that he already knew the answer, but Edgeworth felt obliged to tell him anyway.

"Well...yes," he replied, sending Phoenix into peals of laughter. Edgeworth let off a small sigh and sat down next to him.

_There is no use trying to stop him, Miles. You know as well as anyone that Phoenix Wright cannot be stopped…_

"Y-your face...!" Phoenix spluttered in between short bursts of laughter. "You look so serious..."

Edgeworth violently hit him on the shoulder, but he couldn't resist smirking as well.

"Shut up, Wright!"

"OK, OK..."

"So," began Edgeworth, clearing his throat, "Why have you come to visit me after all these years? It isn't really an amazing time for visiting people, what with the current weather and all."

The room went completely silent, and Edgeworth couldn't work out why Phoenix suddenly looked so grave.

_D-did I say something wrong?_

All of a sudden, the second earthquake struck, causing both men to jump up in shock and grip the thing nearest to them: Phoenix grabbed the edge of the sofa and Edgeworth grabbed Phoenix. For the duration of the earthquake, they stood stock still, fixed in that position; when it had stopped, however, they quickly broke off what they were holding and sat back down.

"S-sorry, Wright..." Edgeworth stuttered, shaking violently. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine, Miles." Phoenix reassured.

_Miles...? He's never called me by my first name…_

"You did what anyone that was afraid would do in this situation. That's why I came here, though: I wanted to stay with you just until the earthquakes are over. I mean, you know as well as I do that you are petrified of them, and I know that you wouldn't survive a whole load of them without someone with you every step of the way."

Edgeworth looked down at the floor. He didn't know what to say at all.

After a moment of thought, he looked up into his friend's eyes and felt tears welling up in his own.

"T-thank you...Phoenix."

Taking Edgeworth by the hand, Phoenix stood up and pulled Edgeworth with him.

"No need to thank me." he smiled, running towards the open door. "Come on, then!"

"W-where are we going?"

"Back to my office, of course! You aren't going to stay in here_ forever, _right?"

"No.." Edgeworth stuttered; he didn't want to leave the comfort of his workplace, but decided to go with his best friend. Sighing as he followed Phoenix outside, he knew in his heart that he was truly happy again after all these years.

He wasn't alone anymore.


End file.
